The Norwalk football team will close out the non-district portion of the schedule tonight with a rivalry game at Dallas Center-Grimes. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 on kniakrls.com (KNIA3).
The Warriors, now 2-1 overall, dropped to 9th in this week’s BCMoore Class 4A rankings following a 49-27 loss to defending state champion Lewis Central last Friday. Norwalk turned the ball over four times against the Titans and absorbed some untimely penalties as well. Coach Paul Patterson is quick to point out that the Warriors have been plagued by six turnovers combined in the last two games.
“Unacceptable,” he said. “If you’re going to try and be a good football team and try to make a run… anywhere – whether that be through your district or into the playoffs – you’ve got to clean that up, and that’s one of the points of emphasis this week for us.”
Patterson says the Warriors have bounced back well from their first loss with some efficient, high-energy practices this week, adding that the players are in good spirits entering Friday’s final tuneup for district play.
Dallas Center-Grimes is 0-3 on the year, but Patterson expects to be challenged by a Mustang team that almost always has athletes and a strong defense. The Little Hawkeye Conference rivalry between the schools and the fact that it’s DC-G’s Homecoming game only adds fuel to the fire.
“Every single thing that we do, it’s a great rivalry with them,” Patterson said. “It’s Homecoming for them, so lots of things on the line. They’re well coached, they are very disciplined in what they do, and we’re going to see if we can take advantage of some of the things that we’ve seen on film.”
DC-G’s three losses have all come against good teams: 20-16 vs. Class 3A No. 6 North Polk, 21-14 against 4A No. 6 Bondurant-Farrar and 44-21 vs. 5A No. 7 Johnston.
The Mustangs have changed to more of a passing team this season, throwing the ball nearly 75 percent of the time. Junior quarterback Ty Mikkelsen has completed 51-of-87 passes for 617 yards and four touchdowns, but has also thrown six interceptions. DC-G has netted only 114 rushing yards through Week 3, averaging 1.6 yards per carry.
Patterson says the Warriors must stay sound in their coverage and be disciplined with their eyes while attempting to put some consistent pressure on Mikkelsen. Offensively, Patterson says Norwalk will look to take advantage of some cushions, get their athletes in space and try to complement the passing game by establishing the run.
Norwalk won last year’s meeting between the two teams by a score of 28-9.